Editing Steamboat (section)

===Great Britain===
{{main|Thames steamers}}
Engineer Robert Fourness and his cousin, physician James Ashworth are said to have had a steamboat running between Hull and Beverley, after having been granted British Patent No. 1640 of March 1788 for a "new invented machine for working, towing, expediting and facilitating the voyage of ships, sloops and barges and other vessels upon the water". James Oldham, MICE, described how well he knew those who had built the F&A steamboat in a lecture entitled "On the rise, progress and present position of steam navigation in Hull" that he gave at the 23rd Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement for Science in Hull, England on 7 September 1853.
The first commercially successful steamboat in Europe, [[Henry Bell (engineer)|Henry Bell's]] ''[[PS Comet|Comet]]'' of 1812, started a rapid expansion of steam services on the [[Firth of Clyde]], and within four years a steamer service was in operation on the inland [[Loch Lomond]], a forerunner of the lake steamers still gracing Swiss lakes.<ref>{{cite book |first=Basil |last=Clark |title=Steamboat Evolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ruLraHeDq7MC&pg=PA160 |date=2007 |page=160|publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=978-1-84753-201-5 }}</ref>

On the Clyde itself, within ten years of ''Comet's'' start in 1812 there were nearly fifty steamers, and services had started across the [[Irish Sea]] to [[Belfast]] and on many British estuaries. By 1900 there were over 300 [[Clyde steamer]]s.<ref>{{cite book |first=Fred |last=Hawks |title=Unknown title |publisher=World Ship Society |type=CD |number=2 |date=2010}}</ref>

People have had a particular affection for the [[Clyde puffer]]s, small steam freighters of traditional design developed to use the Scottish canals and to serve the [[Scottish Highlands|Highlands]] and Islands. They were immortalised by the tales of [[Para Handy]]'s boat ''[[Vital Spark]]'' by [[Neil Munro (Hugh Foulis)|Neil Munro]] and by the film ''[[The Maggie]]'', and a small number are being conserved to continue in steam around the west highland sea lochs.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Bruce |last1=Lenman |first2=J |last2=Mackie |title=A History of Scotland |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_cvp_njNb2sC&pg=PT448 |date=1991 |publisher=Penguin |page=448|isbn=978-0-14-192756-5 }}</ref>

From 1850 to the early decades of the 20th century [[Windermere]], in the English [[Lake District]], was home to many elegant steam launches. They were used for private parties, watching the yacht races or, in one instance, commuting to work, via the rail connection to Barrow in Furness. Many of these fine craft were saved from destruction when steam went out of fashion and are now part of the collection at [[Windermere Steamboat Museum]]. The collection includes [[SL Dolly]], 1850, thought to be the world's oldest mechanically powered boat, and several of the classic Windermere launches.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.steamboats.org.uk/collection-1 |title=The Collection |website=Windermere Steamboat Museum}}</ref>

Today the 1900 steamer {{SS|Sir Walter Scott}} still sails on [[Loch Katrine]], while on Loch Lomond [[PS Maid of the Loch|PS ''Maid of the Loch'']] is being restored{{When|date=September 2023}}, and in the English Lakes the oldest operating passenger yacht, [[SY Gondola|SY ''Gondola'']] (built 1859, rebuilt 1979), sails daily during the summer season on Coniston Water.

The paddle steamer ''[[PS Waverley|Waverley]]'', built in 1947, is the last survivor of these fleets, and the last seagoing paddle steamer in the world. This ship sails a full season of cruises every year from places around Britain, and has sailed across the [[English Channel]] for a visit to commemorate the sinking of her predecessor, built in 1899, at the [[Battle of Dunkirk]] in 1940.

[[File:Sissons triple expansion steam engine in sl Nuneham.jpg|thumb|Sissons [[triple-expansion engine|triple-expansion steam engine]] and coal-fired [[Scotch boiler]], as installed in SL ''Nuneham'']]

After the Clyde, the Thames estuary was the main growth area for steamboats, starting with the ''Margery'' and the ''Thames'' in 1815, which were both brought down from the Clyde. Until the arrival of railways from 1838 onwards, steamers steadily took over the role of the many sail and rowed ferries, with at least 80 ferries by 1830 with routes from London to Gravesend and Margate, and upstream to Richmond. By 1835, the Diamond Steam Packet Company, one of several popular companies, reported that it had carried over 250,000 passengers in the year.<ref>{{cite book |first=Frank L. |last=Dix |title=Royal River Highway, A History of the Passenger Boats and Services on the Thames |publisher=David & Charles |date=1985 |pages=60–63}}</ref>

The first steamboat constructed of iron, the ''[[Aaron Manby]]'' was laid down in the [[Horseley Ironworks]] in Staffordshire in 1821 and launched at the [[Surrey Docks]] in [[Rotherhithe]]. After testing in the Thames, the boat steamed to Paris where she was used on the [[River Seine]]. Three similar iron steamers followed within a few years.

{{Listen| filename = Belliss steam launch engine - Thinktank - Andy Mabbett - 2015-02-12 -01.flac |title = Bellis steam launch engine |type = speech |description = A Bellis steam launch engine, made in Birmingham, and now in [[Thinktank, Birmingham|Thinktank museum]] there }}

There are few genuine steamboats left on the [[River Thames]]; however, a handful remain.

The SL (steam launch) ''Nuneham'' is a genuine [[Victorian era|Victorian]] steamer built in 1898, and operated on the non-tidal upper Thames by the Thames Steam Packet Boat Company. It is berthed at Runnymede.

SL ''Nuneham'' was built at Port [[Brimscombe]] on the [[Thames and Severn Canal]] by Edwin Clarke. She was built for [[Salter Bros]] at [[Oxford]] for the regular passenger service between Oxford and [[Kingston-upon-Thames|Kingston]]. The original Sissons [[triple-expansion engine|triple-expansion steam engine]] was removed in the 1960s and replaced with a diesel engine. In 1972, the SL ''Nuneham'' was sold to a London boat operator and entered service on the [[Westminster Pier]] to [[Hampton Court]] service. In 1984 the boat was sold again – now practically derelict – to French Brothers Ltd at Runnymede as a restoration project.

Over a number of years French Brothers carefully restored the launch to its former specification. A similar Sissons triple-expansion engine was found in a museum in America, shipped back to the UK and installed, along with a new coal-fired [[Scotch boiler]], designed and built by Alan McEwen of [[Keighley]], Yorkshire. The superstructure was reconstructed to the original design and elegance, including the raised roof, wood panelled saloon and open top deck. The restoration was completed in 1997 and the launch was granted an MCA passenger certificate for 106 passengers. SL Nuneham was entered back into service by French Brothers Ltd, but trading as the Thames Steam Packet Boat Company.